The devices, systems and methods described below relate generally to illuminated devices such as medical devices, systems, and methods and preferably relate to illumination of a surgical field, although this is not intended to be limiting and usage outside of a surgical field is also contemplated.
Illumination of target areas to allow an operator to clearly observe the target area can be challenging. External lighting provided by headlamps or wall mounted lights require constant adjustment and can still cast unwanted shadows in the target area. These devices may be heavy and can be uncomfortable to wear. Additionally, these illumination techniques may not be capable of illuminating a target area that is deep and disposed far below a surface such as a surgical field in a patient. Other illumination techniques may use an illumination element such as a fiber optic bundle which can be coupled to tools or other instruments and which are inserted into the target area thereby providing more localized illumination. Examples of this approach include surgical retractor blades with fiber optics or other illumination elements coupled thereto. Fiber optics can help illuminate the target area, but fiber optic systems can also be inefficient at transmitting light, and the resulting light loss significantly reduces the amount of light delivered to the target area. Powerful light sources may be provided in an attempt to overcome the inefficiency of light transmission, but such attempts can result in excessive heat generation, potentially leading to fires or thermal damage to the patient or surgical instruments being used.
In addition to the challenges associated with the techniques described above, illuminated tools and instruments must not only provide adequate illumination of the work area, but they preferably must also be able to access tight spaces without occupying significant volume that otherwise is needed for other tools and instruments, or an operator's hands, as well as still allowing the operator an unobstructed view of the working area. With the introduction of newer minimally invasive surgical techniques, it has become especially important to provide illumination systems with low profiles, so that the systems may be used in conjunction with minimal surgical incisions.
In order to keep the profile of an illumination system as minimal as possible, the optical coupling between the illumination input (e.g. a fiber optic input cable or other input) and the illumination element (e.g. a fiber optic or an optical waveguide) is preferably in a low-profile configuration. Furthermore, it would be desirable for such a low-profile optical coupling to have robust structural support, both to secure the attachment of the optical input to the illumination element, as well as protecting the coupling between the optical input and illumination element from excessive flexural loads and stresses that could disrupt the light input. It would also be desirable to provide an optimized coupling between the optical input and the illumination element that is optically efficient to minimize light loss and resulting localized heating. In manufacturing such a low-profile illumination system, it would also be desirable to provide a structure and method for facilitating the handling of the optical input (e.g. fiber optic input cable) during manufacturing and assembly processes. At least some of these objectives will be met by the exemplary embodiments described herein.